Project: '48 Willys CJ2A (update 3/13/08)

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

That rear seat that you took out looks like it may have been the original seat frame with a homemade plywood seat. The photo that dog_party posted has a rear seat and the CJ2A on the website has one also. If you do decide to take it out you may be able to get something for it from a collector. How's it coming now? Any updates? There's a guy down the street who has one in dark blue and he's gradually restoring it. He just put new rubber on his. He doesn't seem to drive it much yet though.

stick · **Posted:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 9:33 am

Yeah, It's certainly a real seat frame from something, I'm just not sure what. I'm pretty certain it's not the original frame from the Willys. It fit nicely in the width, but the mounting brackets were all wrong and someone had fabricated some crossbars that the frame was mounted to. I've seen some original rear seat frames and they didn't look like this. I'm going to keep it, just in case I decide to do something with it later or at least until I found out what it's from. Might be from a 3B, early CJ5, or something.

Only got a few minor things done this week: new battery hold down bracket, painted the front and rear bumpers (rattle can semi-flat black), installed the tailgate chains, etc.

wendell · **Posted:** Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:12 am

Willys overland in Toledo Ohio sells exact duplicate jeep bodies, thier even allowed to use jeep logo's.

stick · **Post subject:** update 10/11/07

I put a Bestop Tigertop on the Willys. I'm keeping the old Sears hard top, but I think I like the soft top better. After I took the pictures I painted the aluminum channels that hold the doors on. I painted them OD green to match the Jeep, so they're not so obvious anymore.

Also new in those pictures are new hood latches and a new side mirror.

Jeger · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:19 am

Looks great!

Thanks for keeping this updated, I really enjoy the old jeep.

What kind of tires are those?

stick · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:24 am

Thanks. The tires are Cooper Discover Radial STT mud tires. They're 215x75x15 in size.

dog_party · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:58 am

That Bestop Tigertop look GREAT!! Buildup is coming along quite nicely. Can't wait to see picts of you cruising around in it!!

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:55 pm

wendell wrote:

Willys overland in Toledo Ohio sells exact duplicate jeep bodies, thier even allowed to use jeep logo's.

RE: Willys Overland
They handle all types of Willys and Jeep stuff even things for Libertys! Plus they are only 1 mile or so away from my house! I like to go snoop around on rainy days.

stick · **Posted:** Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:00 am

I got my "classic vehicle" plate and registration in the mail today from the DMV. All I need now is a safety inspection and she'll be back on the road.

stick · **Posted:** Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:10 pm

Not much of an update, but I pcked up some accessories for the Willys recently. I got these at the big surplus store here in PA. The small white metal box I'm going to use as a first aid kit. The large metal ammo box I'm going to mount in the back to put stuff in. It has a rubber gasket and is waterproof. I'm not sure where I'm going to mount the jerry can holder and jerry can, but I thought it was cool so I picked it up.

I've been working on the wiring for the lights and turn signals. I have the Signal-Stat 902 model after-market turn signal kit. These kits are pretty common on these old Willys, but my particular model doesn't factor in stop lights so I either have to run a second set of lights in the back or figure something else out.

stick · **Posted:** Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:27 pm

When I bought the Jeep it had a set of brown vinyl bucket seats in it. I'm not sure what they were out of, but they were actually too big for the limited space inside the Willys and they were...well...ugly.

I decided I wanted to put some original seats back in. They're much smaller and look much better. Plus I like for this Jeep to look as original as possible without going too overboard. I picked up a set of seat frames off of a guy on another forum. The passenger's side seat was already fully restored. The driver's side still needed some work.

The got a set of original seat springs (butt cushion) for the driver's side. It has a layer of horse hair on top of the springs and over that was some kind of paper-like stuff. It all kind of looked like a rats nest, but it was original, so I kept it in there.

I ended up putting a piece of 1" thick foam over the paper-like stuff on top of the springs, just for a little extra cushion.

I painted the plate on the back of the springs with POR-15. I then put the new cover over the springs and the bottom cushion was done:

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stick · **Posted:** Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:33 pm

Next up was the frame. The frame had a bad leg, so I ended up getting a leg from another seat frame and welding it on to the new frame. I sanded everything down and gave it a coat of primer:

Next was a few coats of rattle-can black to match the other seat:

For the back rest cushion, I didn't have the original springs. I tried to find some, but had difficulty finding original springs. I decided to use some 4" thick high density foam. This actually worked out pretty well. Here's a picture of the completed seat:

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

Here's a couple of shots of mounted Jerry cans that you might want to look at. Good find on those! Your Jeep is looking great.

dog_party · **Posted:** Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:45 am

Thanks for keeping us up to date on the project Stick! I am really enjoying watching this thing come back to life!! Nice work on the seats, those are going to look a LOT better in there than those brown ones.

stick · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:55 pm

Update: 1/20/08

I finally got a picture of the seats after they were completed and installed. They're still a little dusty and need cleaned up, but I think it turned out pretty well:

stick · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:57 pm

I also painted the "Willys" logo on the tailgate. I'll probably paint the two logos on the hood to match.

I also got a new turn signal switch from ebay and wired that up this week. I also installed a new break light switch and ran new wires for the break lights. All of the lights work now including front and rear turn signals, headlights, parking lights, break lights and I even have 4-way emergency flashers. The old switch was a 4-wire switch. The new switch is a 7-wire switch. Here's pics of the old and new turn signal switches:

03kjsport · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:07 pm

good match. its real nice to be able to watch all this come together. thanks for the updates!

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

I agree! That's a great project and I like watching it come together.

dog_party · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:05 pm

Same here! I am really enjoying living vicariously through this rebuild.

stick · **Posted:** Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:14 pm

Thanks for the compliments guys. It's been a fun project...most of the time

Should have her on the road very soon.

Project: '48 Willys CJ2A (update 3/13/08)

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